seethe

Etymology

From Middle English sethen, from Old English sēoþan (“to seethe, boil, cook in a liquid; subject to a fiery ordeal, try as with fire; subject to great pain, afflict, afflict grievously, disturb; prepare food for the mind; subject the mind with occupations; be troubled in mind, brood”), from Proto-Germanic *seuþaną (“to seethe, boil”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂sewt-, *h₂sut-, *h₂sew- (“to move about, roil, seethe”). Cognates Akin to Scots seth, seith (“to seethe”), Dutch zieden (“to seethe, boil”), Low German seden (“to seethe”), German sieden (“to seethe, boil”), Danish syde (“to seethe, boil”), Swedish sjuda (“to seethe, boil”), Norwegian Nynorsk sjoda, syda (“to seethe, boil”), Icelandic sjóða (“to seethe, boil”), West Frisian siede (“to boil”). Related also to Gothic 𐍃𐌰𐌿𐌸𐍃 (sauþs, “burnt offering, sacrifice”). Other cognates include Albanian zjej (“boil, seethe”).

verb

1. (transitive, archaic) To boil.
2. 1933, Herbert Danby, The Mishnah, page 289:
3. 2010, James Enge, Travellers' Rest:
4. (intransitive, of a liquid) To boil vigorously.
5. (intransitive, of a liquid) To foam in an agitated manner, as if boiling.
6. (intransitive, of a person, figurative) To be in an agitated or angry mental state, as if boiling.
7. (intransitive, of a place, figurative) To buzz with activity.
   Shock Box was the skankiest bar in Hasted, complete with a cheesy jukebox, cheap pints, and a sweaty club in the basement that seethed every weekend with a superhorny boarding-school crowd. 2011, Kate Kingsley, Kiss & Break Up, page 201